Pledge to

Do (at least) one thing every month in 2015 to challenge the stigma surrounding abuse.

How this will help

Every community needs strong voices for ending intimate partner violence and ensuring that survivors
within those communities are supported and able to access helpful
resources.

Based on our research and our work thus far with the See the Triumph campaign, we have learned that every person can make a difference by challenging the stigma
surrounding intimate partner violence within their own communities.

Please read
on for five steps you can take today to begin or continue with these efforts:

1. Acknowledge the problem.

The stigma surrounding intimate partner violence thrives on the denial and
minimization of the full extent of the problem of intimate partner violence. It
is much more difficult to recognize abusive behaviors and relationships when
people believe that abuse doesn't exist, or at least doesn't exist in their own
communities. Therefore, a first and important step is to acknowledge that
intimate partner violence remains a major problem in virtually every corner of
our society. One great resource to get started in learning about the scope of intimate
partner and sexual violence can be found in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.

Intimate partner violence is not always an easy topic to discuss with others.
However, these conversations are a great way to raise awareness within your
communities. Some of the ways you might initiate these conversations include
the following:

Suggest
that your community group host a speaker on domestic violence, such as a
service provider at your local domestic violence agency.

Ask
leaders within your community how they would respond if someone within the
community were to come to them after having experienced intimate partner
violence.

4. Offer resources.

Unless you are a trained professional who works in an agency that responds to
intimate partner violence, it's likely that you'll need help from others when
you learn of someone who has experienced intimate partner violence. Therefore,
it is important for you to learn about credible resources in your area so that
you'll be ready when such a need arises. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence offers a list of State-level domestic violence coalitions, which is a great place to start in learning
about resources in your area. I suggest you that you reach out to individuals
who work in your local community to ask about other potentially helpful
resources, such as for basic needs (e.g., food, shelter, and clothing) and
educational and career support.

5. Uproot the causes of stigma.

In many ways, this last step of challenging the root causes of stigma is the
most difficult. What we've seen in our
research is that the stigma surrounding intimate partner violence is deeply
entrenched into society, as well as into the psyches of many people. We are
working on more research to learn more about these causes, but based on the
work we've done thus far, I would suggest that some of these causes can be
found in gender discrimination, socioeconomic disparities, family traditions,
and inequities in access to resources within communities. To be certain, there
are no simple solutions for uprooting these causes. However, each person can
take big and small efforts in their own lives and within their communities to
work toward broader-level peace, safety, and equality for everyone.

You can be one of the voices in your own communities to
raise awareness about intimate partner violence and challenge the stigma
surrounding it. Take our pledge today, and commit to taking at least one of the
five steps listed above every month in 2015. Join our See the Triumph Facebook
community for resources to help you do this.